Hello Everyone,
Spoiler Alert!!!
For this review I am going to take you back to a simpler time for television. A time where the writers had to be at the top of their game in order for their show to be successful. A time where depended more on stories and less on special effects. And a time where those stories reflected on what was going on in the real world. So I take you back to 1966 with this review of Star Trek: The Original Series season one.
Now those of you who are not into science fiction or those who have only seen the spin-off series. Star Trek: The Original Series depicted the space adventures of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise and his first commander Mr. Spock, a half human, half alien being. Portrayed by William Shatner as Captain Kirk and the late Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock respectively. And rounding up the main cast was the late Deforest Kelly as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, the late James Doohan as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, George Takei as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu and Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov starting from season two. And also staring was the creator Gene Roddenberry's wife Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel.
Here is the thing about star Trek whether it be the original series, a spin-off or one of the reboot films directed by J.J. Abrams, the premise is about people traveling through space and meeting other beings or creatures from other planets so you can't take it too seriously. You just have to have fun watching. I think that is why some people do not like the reboot films, they take it too seriously. But we are not talking about the reboots at least not right now. I am talking about the original series that first premiered in 1966 and was cancelled in 1969 after only three seasons.
Let's first start with the production value of the series which is by today's standards very cheap. As you watch the series you will realize that Gene Roddenberry and crew had almost no budget. Its funny as I was watching season one I was no more than about five episodes in when I realized that they used their greens screen as part of their set. I noticed they decorated the green screen set with fake cliffs and plants to make it looked like another planet. When you as the audience can noticed the green screen that is a pretty horrible set. The set was not the only horrible part of the show, the special effects was also pretty bad. I know for the 60's they were top notch special effects. But by today standards they do not hold up. Most of the special effects were strobe lights and anything they can get their hands on for a few bucks. Now it was not their fault the special effects were terrible, they just didn't have the technology that we have now. Imagine if the creators has today's technology back then that would have been great effects for the 1960's.
Next lets talk about the choreography for the fight scenes which were incredibly cheesy. When the characters fought each other, they fought like ten year old's and not like two different species trying to kill each other. I think the reason for the corny choreography was because television executives back then were a lot more limited to what they could show then they are now. Don't get me wrong executives are still limited today but they can show a lot more hence the fight scenes are a lot more violent now then back then. Bottom line is the set, special effects and choreography is not what makes the series hold up. What makes it hold it are the stories.
Star Trek: The Original Series has a big fan base but it really didn't start to get that big fan base until it was already cancelled. But the stories sort of mirrored the real life events that were going on. which is why I think the stories still hold up today. I mean if you think about it the overall story is Caucasian men, and Asian male, a Russian male, an African American woman and a mix race male all living and working together on one ship. And they all cared deeply for each other. During the 60's you had the Civil Rights, Feminist movement, Black Panther Party etc. going on and everyone was trying to get along. The stories reflected real life! Now the first season was a times hard to get into but it still had engaging episodes. One of the most entertaining episodes was the Khan episode because it had one of the better villains and it served as a back story for Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, the second film with the original cast. And the fight scene between Kirk and Khan was actually pretty good. As good as that episode is I think my favorite episode is episode five titled The Enemy Within which was Star Trek's take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The idea that everyone has a good and bad side to them. I like it because its true we all have light and dark, good and evil in us. I think this episode was also some of William Shatner's best acting. This episode also marked the start of Spock's famous neck pinch. The original script called for Spock to come up behind evil Kirk and hit him with the butt of the phaser. And it was Nimoy developing his character and Shatner's acting that established the neck pinch. It was an excellent episode!
If you ever take a film criticism class and learn about gay/queer theory and homoerotic, then you will realize there is some homoeroticness between Kirk and Spock. For the most part the relationship between the two is that of best friends/brothers but if you analyzed the show you will realized the relationship is also of two characters having unrequited crushes on each other and are gay in a way. For me I don't care I like the relationship between Kirk and Spock.
Even though the production value doesn't hold up today, and the first season was a time hard to get into, season one of Star Trek: The Original Series was a good start to a show that will spring more than one spin-off and an entire reboot film series.
-Katiejayforever
P.S. Stand by for next review!
No comments:
Post a Comment